The precursor to synthetics. Who knew? Of course I'm extremely jealous John. Quite the collection! I have two, one of which was a personal gift from Mr. Lee Sabini (long and interesting story). You are a collector and a wise (I hope, for your sake) investor in rare artifacts.

Lovely. The beehive and Emillion are particular favourites of mine. Where on earth did you get them? I know you’ll have to kill me if you tell me, but...

I had posted "Want to Buy" ads on some of the forums each month for the last couple years, just reminding folks that I was looking. Another collector had seen them, and when he decided that it was time to unload his brushes, razors, and firearms, he offered me the Rooneys.

Well, it turned out on closer inspection yesterday that one of the new brushes is actually a Morris & Forndran Emillion 3 Finest that the seller included. So there were just 19 of the Rooneys. He also tossed in a real horn Rooney Stubby 1 Super and a strange old wooden-handled Rooney boar brush. If anyone can provide information about the boar one I would appreciate it.

Two of my favorites among the new brushes are Emillions, one a tiger stripe.

Lovely. The beehive and Emillion are particular favourites of mine. Where on earth did you get them? I know you’ll have to kill me if you tell me, but...

I had posted "Want to Buy" ads on some of the forums each month for the last couple years, just reminding folks that I was looking. Another collector had seen them, and when he decided that it was time to unload his brushes, razors, and firearms, he offered me the Rooneys.

I’d seen your WTB posts on several forums. It looks as though your perseverance paid off; you hit the jackpot.

I believe the boar brush comes from the era when Rooney was originally active - not the more recent and all-too-brief flowering when Lee Sabini acquired the name.
Gordon used to talk about Rooney being an old respected brushmaker, but that was before my time and I was never aware of them until they re-launched.

OMG John, what a haul, lovely brushes, if you happen to have duplicates of the style 3 size two and want to unload it please let me know, I have the size one and have been looking for the next size up.

Beautiful brushes John, use them in good health.

Regards,
Marty
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"Be still! Me mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading in a waterfall of creative alternatives."

I received an interesting message from Brad Sears. He talked to Lee Sabini on the telephone about the wood-handled boar brush in the earlier images. According to Lee, Basil Rooney, Mrs. Rooney's brother-in-law, was an RAF Spitfire pilot. He was instrumental in getting the Rooney factory to make a number of inexpensive wooden brushes for sale to British soldiers and sailors in 1941-42. Beginning in 1943, Rooney was able to switch from wood to plastic for their Army/Navy brushes. Basil apparently was quite a character, sporting the archetypal handlebar mustache, Brycreamed, slicked-back hair, etc. So it's quite possible that the boar brush that I received was with a British serviceman.

John, the background is impressive. The brush is a wonderful piece of history and you are fortunate to own it. I am curious about the black hair. In the photos it appears to be in very good condition. I'm not asking, because I'm sure no one really knows, but I am just wondering about the origin of that black brush head. We've all seen dozens of very old brushes, but I can't recall seeing any with such a handsome head and in such apparent good condition.

Yes, the black hair does seem to be in excellent condition. I can't tell if it has ever been used; there is no visible soap residue at all. The handle is a little rough, with the top part somewhat loose. I don't plan to use it.